Suzy (Zucker) Esstman
North 1981
With her boundless enthusiasm and talent for leading and inspiring others, Suzy (Zucker) Esstman was a catalyst for improving her community. Her sense of humor, warmth and zest for life are remembered with fondness and appreciation by all who knew her.
Esstman’s leadership skills flourished at the University of Missouri- Columbia, where she served as president of the University’s Student Foundation in 1983-84, and was voted one of the Top Ten Women of Mizzou. As a senior, she was tapped as a member of the prestigious Mystical Seven, honoring good deeds, selfless leadership and service to the campus and community. She also was elected to the Golden Key National Honor Society and the leadership organization Omicron Delta Kappa. She was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority.
After graduating from Mizzou in 1985 with a degree in business, Esstman became a sales executive at Proctor and Gamble, where she displayed a talent for making clients feel like friends. She received significant recognition for her leadership, collaboration and impressive selling skills. Her progression through several levels of management led her to Nashville, where she met her husband, Don.
Esstman left P&G in 1995 to become a stay-at-home mom for her children— Andrew, Joe and Laurel— and to focus on contributing to charitable organizations and the community at large. She organized events for children with limited vision and was selected to serve on the Board of Directors at the Delta Gamma Center. At Parkway’s Green Trails Elementary School, she was active in the PTO and initiated the Pop Open a Book summer reading program. She also made many contributions to events and programs benefiting the American Cancer Society, Family Resource Center and both United Hebrew and Central Reform Congregations.
In 1997, Esstman chaired the opening festivities for the Jewish Community Center in Chesterfield, which was attended by more than 3,000 people. She was instrumental in establishing the Helene Mirowitz Department of Jewish Community Life, which provides parenting programs and family events at the JCC. Esstman became the youngest person ever to be elected to the JCC Executive Committee. The JCC recognized her with the organization’s highest honor for service to the community, the Richard S. Weiss Award, and also the JCC Emerging Leader Award.
After being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2004, Esstman and her friends founded “Walking on Sunshine,” an annual event designed to raise awareness and funding for brain tumor research. More than $60,000 was raised in the two years that she led the event, which has since been dedicated to her memory. She passed away on July 8, 2007.
Suzy Esstman was an inspiration to all who knew her and encouraged each of us to live life to its fullest!